JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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10. OBJECTIVE TRUTH, NOT SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE. We must interpret
experience in the light of Scripture, not vice versa. Scripture, rightly interpreted, is true primarily
because God says it is true. The approach, "It must be true because I have experienced it" does
not take into consideration the fact that Satan is a master counterfeiter (2 Co 11:12-15), and his
deceptions include experiences. Also, just because some experience is true and valid for you,
does not mean that it would be for someone else. Scripture, rightly interpreted, is true primarily
because God says it is true.
11. CONTEXT. Each verse must be studied in relation to its chapter and each chapter
must be studied in relation to its book and each book must be studied in relation to all the other
books (66) that make up the Bible. Just as any part of the human body can only be properly
explained in reference to the whole body, so any part of the Bible can be correctly explained only
in reference to the entire Bible.
The importance of context is often illustrated with the example of the person who would
open the Bible to any page put the finger on a verse and apply it to herself. She began by putting
her finger on the verse that states, "Judas hung himself." Next she flipped to another part of the
Bible and pointed her finger to the verse, "Go and do likewise." Finally in desperation she turned
to another section of the Bible, flipped it open, put her finger on a verse which stated,
"Whatsoever you do, do it quickly." Two or more verses which have little or nothing to do with
each other may be put together as if one were a commentary on the other. The Mormons, for
example, tie Jeremiah 1:5 together with John 1:2,14 and thus imply that both verses talk about
the premortal existence of all human beings. This is unjustified since Jeremiah 1:5 speaks of
God's foreknowledge of the prophet Jeremiah (not his premortal existence). John 1:2 on the other
hand refers to the preexistence of God the Son and in no uncertain terms refers to human beings
in general.
These couple of examples, emphasize the importance of context. Without careful
attention to context Scripture becomes reduced to pretext whereby we use it to prove our
preconceived ideas. Rather we must allow God to speak through Scripture and attempt to hear
and understand and then apply His Word to our lives. The issue is not what we would like
Scripture to say, but what it actually says that counts. If the argument regarding canonicity and
divine inspiration of the 66 books constituting the Bible is valid, a necessary corollary is that the
Bible sets forth a coherent or unified message. God's spokesmen who came later in history not
only provided new material, but they reemphasized facets of earlier revelation as part of the
whole counsel of God.
Paul, as one of the last revelatory spokesmen, regards anyone who teaches a message
contrary to what has already been given as worthy of hell (Gal 1:8f.). Paul also considered the
teaching which he gave as being so in line with the message of the earlier spokesmen that he
used quotations from these earlier sources of revelation to affirm his point (Ro 3:9) that all the
people of the earth are under sin (vv. 10-18).